Lock Repair in Colorado Springs, CO

How Colorado Springs weather works on a lock

The Colorado Climate Center describes generally low humidity across Colorado and large day-to-night temperature changes. Colorado Springs sits at 6,035 feet, averages 38 inches of snow a season with March the snowiest month, and gets winter chinook warm spells with sharp day-to-day swings.

At the door:

• Dry air and moving doors. Wood doors and frames dry out and shift with the seasons, which can pull a deadbolt out of line with its strike. If the bolt only throws when you push or lift the door, adjusting or moving the strike plate is often the repair, not a new lock.
• Warm afternoon, cold morning. A cylinder that turns easily after a chinook thaw can drag once the temperature falls overnight, and meltwater in a keyway can turn to ice. Use a lock de-icer rather than forcing the key.
• Snow at the threshold. Packed snow or ice along the bottom of a door keeps it from closing fully, and a latch that does not seat will not lock.

Older hardware worth keeping

Many houses in the Old North End Historic District were built between 1890 and 1910, and some of their doors may still carry original mortise locks. Broken springs, worn levers and loose knobs in those locks can often be repaired, keeping the original hardware and door.

Knob sets and deadbolts installed in the 1970s and 1980s are old enough for latch springs and cylinders to wear, and a single worn part is often repairable.

Simple upkeep

1. Before winter, puff dry graphite or a cylinder lubricant into each keyway. Skip heavy oil, which holds dust.
2. Tighten loose screws on knobs, levers and strike plates. A longer strike screw into the framing holds alignment better.
3. Close each door and throw the deadbolt. If it needs force, note it before it gets worse.
4. Clear ice from the threshold rather than slamming the door to make the latch catch.

What to send

Say which lock, what it does and when: sticking only on cold mornings, only in afternoon sun, or all the time. Add a photo of the lock and its strike. If a key has already snapped, see broken key extraction. The lock repair page covers the service, and Colorado Springs covers local conditions.